Everything I Wanted to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume

Contemporary women writers talk about Judy Blume's influence on life, love and being a girl. Includes chapters by Meg Cabot, Laura Ruby, Jennifer O'Connell, and Cara Lockwood. This collection of 24 essays edited by O'Connell (Plan B) pays tribute to the influence of Judy Blume and her work about coming-of-age as a girl in America. In each piece, the writer reveals what O'Connell calls her "Judy Blume moment," telling a heartfelt and revealing story that reflects the same social awkwardness and true-to-life experiences Blume conveys in her novels, from menstruation to childhood bullying to masturbation.

In Cry, Linda, Cry, Meg Cabot recalls how Blume's book Blubber taught her how to laugh at herself, while also giving her the courage to stand up to schoolgirl bullies. Likewise, Stephanie Lessing, in The One That Got Away, reflects on Blume's It's Not the End of the World, explaining the solace she found in its understanding of what it's like when parents divorce. In Boys Like Shiny Things, Laura Ruby remembers how Deenie helped her deal with her own physical and social awkwardness.

Readers who similarly found solace and support in Blume's work should relate easily to these writers through the Blumian characters and themes they evoke. Writing in the spirit of Blume, these women present their experiences as a series of personal truths.